Configurable chassis shelf

ABSTRACT

A chassis shelf may include an upper guide adapted to receive a first edge of a first card and a lower guide adapted to receive a first edge of a second card. The chassis shelf may include an alignment device adapted to align the chassis shelf with respect to a chassis. The chassis shelf may include an attachment device for removably coupling the chassis shelf to the chassis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of prior co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/141,058, filed Jun. 1, 2005, entitled“CONFIGURABLE CHASSIS SHELF,” the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Implementations consistent with the principles of the invention relategenerally to retaining assemblies in electronic devices, and moreparticularly, to a configurable chassis shelf for use with cards of anelectronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic devices may be used in many types of systems and/orapplications, such as control systems, data processing systems, medicalsystems, telecommunication systems and/or communication networks.Electronic devices may include system controllers, servers and/or dataacquisition systems, medical imaging systems, central office systems,and/or network devices, such as routers, switches, firewalls, and/ornetwork address translators. For some applications it may be desirableto make electronic devices scalable to accommodate new applicationrequirements. For example, a communication network may be expanded toaccommodate new users, modified to accommodate new networking protocolsand/or types of data traffic, and/or may be reconfigured in response tonetwork attacks and/or natural disasters.

Scalable electronic devices may be designed to accommodate certainchanges. For instance, an electronic device may be configured to includea chassis that accepts removable cards to provide flexibility foraccommodating new application requirements. A card may include anydevice capable of receiving data from another device and/or capable ofmaking data available to another device. Implementations of cards maytake the form of removable cards or boards that are configured andadapted for use in an electronic device.

An electronic device may include one or more chassis slots for acceptinga removable card having a first size, such as a full sized card, and mayinclude one or more slots for accepting a removable card having a secondsize, such as a half-height card. An electronic device having the aboveconfiguration may provide adequate flexibility in certain situations;however, in other situations the scalability of the electronic devicemay be inadequate. For example, if accommodating a new applicationrequirement, such as an upgrade, requires a number of half-height cardsthat exceeds the number of half-height slots, a new electronic deviceenclosure and/or chassis may be required to deploy the additionalcapability. Installing a new enclosure/chassis may result in additionalcost, additional cooling requirements, and/or additional spacerequirements. The new chassis may be required even though an existingenclosure/chassis is not fully utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an implementation, a chassis shelf is provided. Thechassis shelf may include a first guide adapted to receive a first edgeof a first card and a second guide adapted to receive a first edge of asecond card. The chassis shelf may include an attachment device forremovably coupling the chassis shelf to a chassis.

In accordance with another implementation, a card assembly is provided.The card assembly may include a first card having a first edge, a secondedge, and a first mating connector, and a second card having a firstedge, a second edge, and a second mating connector. The card assemblymay include a chassis shelf adapted to receive the first edge of thefirst card and the second edge of the second card, where the chassisshelf retains the first card and the second card in a determinedarrangement that forms an assembly. The assembly may operatively engagea chassis via a chassis slot.

In accordance with yet another implementation, an electronic device isprovided. The electronic device may include a chassis adapted to supporta first chassis connector to communicatively couple a first card to theelectronic device. The chassis may be adapted to support a secondchassis connector to communicatively couple a second card to theelectronic device. The chassis may be adapted to support a threadedchannel adapted to receive a threaded shaft to support a chassis shelfat a determined position relative to the chassis, the first chassisconnector, and the second chassis connector.

In accordance with still another implementation, a chassis shelf isprovided. The chassis shelf may include first means for receiving afirst portion of a first card and second means for receiving a firstportion of a second card. The chassis shelf may include coupling meansfor removably coupling the chassis shelf to the backplane or midplane.The chassis shelf may include engagement means for operatively engaginga tightening device, where the engagement means is operatively coupledto the coupling means to convey a tightening motion from the engagementmeans to the coupling means in order to retain the chassis shelf at adetermined position with respect to the backplane or midplane when thecoupling means is coupled to the backplane or midplane.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the inventionand, together with the description, explain the invention. In thedrawings,

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary electronic device capable of accepting aconfigurable chassis shelf consistent with the principles of theinvention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a full height chassisslot configured accept a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate perspective views of a configurable chassisshelf consistent with the principles of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic representation of two half-height cardsconfigured and arranged to occupy a full-height chassis slot inconjunction with a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a card seating device including an upper lockingdevice and a lower locking device for seating cards in a chassis inconjunction with a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of implementations consistent withthe principles of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. Thesame reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same orsimilar elements. Also, the following detailed description does notlimit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined bythe appended claims and their equivalents.

Implementations may include a configurable chassis shelf that may beused to install two or more partial-height cards into a full-heightchassis opening. For example, two half-height cards may be attached to aconfigurable chassis shelf such that the two half-height cards occupy asingle full-height chassis slot. Implementations of the configurablechassis shelf may allow for efficient use of chassis openings byallowing full-height and/or partial-height cards to be configured in amanner that allows substantially full utilization of chassis openings.Implementations of the configurable chassis shelf may be used with cardslots having substantially any orientation, such as horizontal cardslots and/or vertical card slots.

Exemplary Electronic Device Configuration

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary electronic device 100 capable ofaccepting a configurable chassis shelf consistent with the principles ofthe invention. Electronic device 100 that may include an enclosure 102,a full-height card 104, a half-height card 106, a configurable chassisshelf 108, a controller module 110, a power supply module 112, a cablemanagement module 114, a plenum 116 and a mounting flange 118. In otherimplementations, electronic device 100 may be configured differently.

Enclosure 102 may include any structure that can be configured to act asa housing to retain and/or protect a chassis, removable cards, and/orother modules that may be used to facilitate operation of electronicdevice 100. Enclosure 102 may be fabricated from metal, plastic and/orcomposite and may be sized for particular applications. In oneimplementation, enclosure 102 may be sized to fit an industry standardmounting structure, such as an equipment rack. Enclosure 102 may includeone or more mounting flanges 118 to facilitate attachment of enclosure102 to a mounting structure, such as an equipment rack. Mounting flange118 may include one or more mounting holes for accepting fasteners, suchas machine screws, for use in attaching electronic device 100 to amounting structure.

Full-height card 104 and/or half-height card 106 may include anydevice(s) and/or component(s) that are configured to perform a functionwhile installed in electronic device 100. “Height” as used herein whenreferring to cards denotes a length associated a card that may beinstalled in a vertical orientation, a horizontal orientation, and/oranother orientation. Full-height card 104 and/or half-height card 106may be removably coupled to electronic device 100 using fasteners,catches, and/or other retaining mechanisms. Full-height card 104 and/orhalf-height card 106 may be configured to have a predetermined heightand/or depth so as to be retained by a chassis and/or configurablechassis shelf 108 inside electronic device 100. In one implementation,full-height card 104 may have dimensions on the order of approximately15 inches high by approximately 8 inches deep, and half-height card 106may have dimensions on the order of approximately 7 inches high byapproximately 8 inches deep. Full-height card 104, half-height card 106and/or other types of partial-height cards may be configured to performcertain functions using a combination of hardware and/or softwarecomponents. For example, in one implementation, full-height card 104,half-height card 106 and/or other types of partial-height cards may beconfigured to perform packet forwarding, network address translation,data encryption, data processing, and/or data storage using hardwareand/or software components.

Configurable chassis shelf 108 (hereinafter chassis shelf 108) mayinclude any device, mechanism and/or structure that may be configured tocouple two or more partial-height cards into an assembly that can beconfigured and adapted to fit into a chassis slot within enclosure 102.Chassis shelf 108 may have a height on the order of approximately oneinch, a width on the order of approximately 1 inch, and a depth on theorder of approximately 8 inches.

Controller module 110 may include any device(s) and/or component(s) thatare configured to control and/or monitor the operation of one or morecards operating in electronic device 100. Controller module 110 mayinclude a special-purpose computer that can be configured on afull-height card 104 so as to occupy a full-height slot in a chassiswithin electronic device 100 or may be configured to have a differentdimension, such as for mounting in a partial-height card slot or in adedicated portion of electronic device 100. Power supply module 112 mayinclude any device capable of providing power to devices operating inelectronic device 100. Power supply module 112 may be configured toperform voltage and/or current conversion and may include one or moreinputs and/or outputs. In one implementation, power supply module 112may accept an alternating current (AC) from a wall receptacle andprovide a direct current (DC) to devices operating within electronicdevice 100.

Cable management module 114 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure configured to retain and/or manage cables. In oneimplementation, cable management module 114 may include guides and/orchannels for retaining wires and/or optical fibers associated withfull-height card 104, half-height card 106, controller module 110 and/orpower supply module 112. Plenum 116 may include any device, mechanismand/or structure that facilitates and/or directs airflow throughelectronic device 100. In one implementation, plenum 116 may include oneor more openings, or channels, for accepting an input air volume anddirecting the input air volume across interior portions of full-heightcard 104, half-height card 106, controller module 110 power supplymodule 112, and/or other devices, components and/or cards.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic representation of a full-height chassisslot that can accept a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention. While the exemplary implementation of FIG.2 illustrates a chassis slot having a vertical orientation,implementations of the configurable chassis shelf may be used with cardslots having other orientations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an implementation of a full-height chassis slot 200configured to accept a full-height card, such as full-height card 104,or two partial-height cards, such as half-height cards 106, that may besubstantially the same height and that may be operating in conjunctionwith configurable chassis shelf 108. Other implementations may employtwo or more partial-height cards that are not the same height, such asmight occur when a ⅓-height card and/or a ⅔-height card operate inconjunction with configurable chassis shelf 108. Partial-height card asused herein refers to any card having a height that is less than theheight of a full-height card. Partial-height cards may have the samedepth, a longer depth and/or a shorter depth than a correspondingfull-height card.

Full-height chassis slot 200 may occupy an interior portion of enclosure102 of electronic device 100 and may include an upper chassis guide 202,a lower chassis guide 204, a back plane/mid plane 206, an upper chassisconnector 208, a lower chassis connector 210, an upper alignment channel212, a threaded channel 214, and a lower alignment channel 216. Chassisshelf 108 may be configured to operate in conjunction with full-heightchassis slot 200. Full-height chassis slot 200 may be divided into anupper portion 220 and/or a lower portion 222 via a reference location,such as a center line (CL) 224. In one implementation, full-heightchassis slot 200 may be substantially symmetrical about center line 224such that upper portion 220 and lower portion 222 may be substantiallyidentical. Center line 224 may longitudinally pass through chassis shelf108 when mounted in full-height chassis slot 200.

Upper chassis guide 202 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure that may retain a portion of a card, such as a full-heightcard 104 and/or a partial-height card 106. In one implementation, upperchassis guide 202 may include a channel configured and adapted toreceive an upper edge of a card. Upper chassis guide 202 may retain theupper edge in a desired position relative to back plane/mid plane 206.Lower chassis guide 204 may be substantially identical to upper chassisguide 202 and may be configured to retain a lower edge of a card in adesired position relative to back plane/mid plane 206.

Backplane/midplane 206 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure that may be configured to support upper chassis guide 202,lower chassis guide 204, upper chassis connector 208, lower chassisconnector 210, upper alignment channel 212, threaded channel 214, and/orlower alignment channel 216. Implementations of backplane/midplane 206may be fabricated from metal and may operate as a ground plane fordevices into which full-height chassis slot 200 is installed.

Upper chassis connector 208 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure capable of making electrical and/or optical signals availableto a card having a mating connector associated therewith. In oneimplementation, upper chassis connector 208 may include a multi-pinconnector configured and arranged to receive an upper mating connectormounted on a card, such as full-height card 104. When full-height card104 is seated in full-height chassis slot 200, an upper mating connectoron the card may be electrically and/or optically coupled to upperchassis connector 208 so that full-height card 104 may communicate withelectronic device 100 and/or other cards installed in electronic device100. Lower chassis connector 210 may be configured in a mannersubstantially identical to upper chassis connector 208. Configuringupper chassis connector 208 and lower chassis connector 210 in anidentical manner may facilitate the use of two half-height cards infull-height chassis slot 200 in conjunction with chassis shelf 108.

Generally, chassis shelf 108 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure that may be configured to couple two or more cards into anassembly that can be configured and adapted to fit into a chassis slot,such as full-height chassis slot 200, as described in detail below.

Upper alignment channel 212 and/or lower alignment channel 216 mayinclude any device, mechanism and/or structure that may be configuredand adapted to receive an alignment post associated with chassis shelf108. Upper alignment channel 212 and/or lower alignment channel 216 mayoperate to maintain chassis shelf 108 in a desired position wheninstalled in full-height chassis slot 200. In one implementation, upperalignment channel 212 and/or lower alignment channel 216 maycooperatively operate in conjunction with upper chassis guide 202 and/orlower chassis guide 204 to maintain partial-height cards in a determinedposition when installed in full-height chassis slot 200.

Threaded channel 214 may include any device, mechanism and/or structurethat may be configured and adapted to receive an attachment device,mechanism and/or structure, such as a threaded shaft associated withchassis shelf 108. Threaded channel 214 may receive a threaded shaftassociated with chassis shelf 108 to secure chassis shelf 108 againstback plane/mid plane 206 when the threaded shaft is engaged withthreaded channel 214. Threaded channel 214 may be configured to operatein conjunction with upper alignment channel 212 and/or lower alignmentchannel 216 to align chassis shelf 108 in a determined position withrespect to upper chassis guide 202, lower chassis guide 204 and/or backplane/mid plane 206.

When two partial-height cards are installed in full-height chassis slot200 using chassis shelf 108, an upper card may occupy upper portion 220and a lower card may occupy lower portion 222. Chassis shelf 108 mayengage a lower edge of the upper card and may engage an upper edge ofthe lower card. Chassis shelf 108 may align the upper card and the lowercard such that an upper edge or the upper card may engage upper chassisguide 202 and a lower edge of the lower card may engage lower chassisguide 204.

Exemplary Configurable Chassis Shelf

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate perspective views of a configurable chassisshelf consistent with the principles of the invention. Chassis shelf 108may include a front portion 302, a rear portion 304, and a middleportion 306. Front portion 302 may include an angled face plate 308, apair of face plate screws 310, an upper receptacle 312, a lowerreceptacle 314, a shaft head 316, a proximal end of an upper guide 322,and a proximal end of a lower guide 324. As shown in FIG. 3B, rearportion 304 may include upper alignment post 318, threaded shaft 320,lower alignment post 338, a distal end of upper guide 322 and a distalend of lower guide 324. Middle portion 306 may include a shaft 326, amiddle portion of upper guide 322, a middle portion lower guide 324, anda connecting member 328.

Referring to front portion 302, angled face plate 308 may include anydevice, mechanism and/or structure that may be configured anddimensioned to retain upper receptacle 312, lower receptacle 314, andshaft head 316. Angled face plate 308 may be dimensioned to receive alower locking/retaining mechanism associated with an upper card and/oran upper locking/retaining mechanism associated with a lower card.Angled face plate 308 may be attached to chassis shelf 108 using faceplate screws 310, other fastening devices and/or fastening techniques,such as rivets, adhesive, and/or welds. Upper receptacle 312 and/orlower receptacle 314 may include any device, mechanism and/or structurethat can be configured and dimensioned to receive a threaded portion ofa retaining mechanism, such as a thumb screw. Upper receptacle 312and/or lower receptacle 314 may be identical and may include threadedinserts. Shaft head 316 may include any device, mechanism and/orstructure capable of operatively engaging a tightening device such as ascrewdriver and/or a wrench. Shaft head 316 may be coupled to a proximalend of shaft 326, and a distal end of shaft 326 may be coupled tothreaded shaft 320. When shaft head 316 is rotated in a direction via atightening device, threaded shaft 320 may rotate in the same directionto engage and/or disengage chassis shelf 108 with/frombackplane/midplane 206 via threaded shaft 320.

Front portion 302 may include a proximal end of upper guide 322 as shownby area “A”, and a proximal end of lower guide 324. Upper guide 322 mayinclude any device, mechanism and/or structure that can be configuredand dimensioned to retain a portion of a card, such as a card edge, in adetermined position with respect to chassis shelf 108. Upper guide 322may include first wall 330 and/or an opposing second wall 332. Firstwall 330 and/or second wall 332 may be configured and dimensioned toretain a card edge therebetween. First wall 330 and/or second wall 332may be separated by a width (W) and may, respectively, have a depth (D).In one implementation, width may be on the order of approximately 0.1inches and depth may be on the order of approximately 0.15 inches;however, other implementations may use different widths and/or depths.

Upper guide 322 may traverse an upper surface of chassis shelf 108 andmay terminate proximate to rear portion 304. Lower guide 324 may besubstantially identical to upper guide 322 and may traverse a lowersurface of chassis shelf 108 and may terminate proximate to rear portion304. Upper guide 322 and/or lower guide 324 may be arrangedsubstantially along a longitudinal axis passing through the center ofchassis shelf 108. Alternatively, upper guide 322 and/or lower guide 324may be offset from the longitudinal axis (as shown in FIG. 3B).

Referring to middle portion 306 (FIG. 3A), shaft 326 may include anydevice, mechanism and/or structure capable of operatively coupling shafthead 316 to threaded shaft 320. Connecting member 328 may include anysubstantially rigid structure capable of coupling to front portion 302and/or rear portion 304. Front portion 302, rear portion 304 and middleportion 306 may be machined, extruded, cast and/or forged and may bemade from metal, plastic and/or composites.

Referring to rear portion 304, first upper alignment post 318 and/orlower alignment post 338 (FIG. 3B) may include any device, mechanismand/or structure that may be configured and dimensioned to engage upperalignment channel 212 (FIG. 2) and/or lower alignment channel 216 whenchassis shelf 108 is installed in a chassis slot. Upper alignment post318 and/or lower alignment post 338 may operate to maintain a determinedalignment between chassis shelf 108 and backplane/midplane 206, betweenan upper card edge of an upper card and upper chassis guide 202, and/orbetween a lower card edge of a lower card and lower chassis guide 204.Upper alignment post 318 and/or lower alignment post 338 may operate toprevent chassis shelf 108 from rotating about a longitudinal axispassing lengthwise through chassis shelf 108 when installed infull-height chassis slot 200. Upper alignment post 318 and/or loweralignment post 338 may operate alone and/or in conjunction with otheralignment devices, mechanisms and/or structures to maintain chassisshelf 108 in a determined position. Threaded shaft 320 may include anydevice, mechanism and/or structure that may be configured anddimensioned to engage threaded channel 214 to retain chassis shelf 108in a determined position.

Exemplary Card Assembly

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic representation of two half-height cardsconfigured and arranged to occupy a full-height chassis slot inconjunction with a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention. Two half-height cards may be releasablycoupled to chassis shelf 108 to form a card assembly 400. Card assembly400 may include chassis shelf 108, upper alignment post 318, threadedshaft 320, lower alignment post 338, an upper card 402, a lower card404, an upper card face plate 406, a lower card face plate 408, an uppermating connector 410, a lower mating connector 412, an upper lockinglever 414, and a lower locking lever 416.

Chassis shelf 108, upper alignment post 318, threaded shaft 320, and/orlower alignment post 338 may be configured as previously described.Upper card 402 and/or lower card 404 may include any card havingdimensions such that two or more cards can be joined together into anassembly 400 that may be capable of occupying a chassis slot. In oneimplementation, upper card 402 and/or lower card 404 may includehalf-height cards having dimensions on the order of approximately 7inches high by approximately 8 inches deep. Upper mating connector 410and/or lower mating connector 412 may include any device, mechanismand/or structure capable of electrically and/or optically coupling uppercard 402 and/or lower card 404 to upper chassis connector 208 (FIG. 2)and/or lower chassis connector 210, respectively. Upper mating connector410 and/or lower mating connector 412 may include multi-pin and/ormulti-receptacle connectors capable of conveying electrical and/oroptical signals from a source to a destination.

Upper face plate 406 and/or lower face plate 408 may include any device,mechanism and/or structure that may be attached to a card to facilitateremovably coupling the card within full-height chassis slot 200,preventing debris from reaching interior portions of full-height chassisslot 200, and/or for receiving fastening devices to facilitate securinga faceplate to a front portion of full-height chassis slot 200 and/orenclosure 102. In one implementation, upper face plate 406 and/or lowerface plate 408 may, respectively, include a substantially flat panelhaving a length sufficient to substantially span from chassis shelf 108to upper chassis guide 202 and/or from chassis shelf 108 to lowerchassis guide 204 (as shown in FIG. 1).

Upper face plate 406 and/or lower face plate 408 may include fasteningdevices, mechanisms and/or structures, such as upper locking lever 414and/or lower locking lever 416, for securing upper face plate 406 and/orlower face plate 408 against a front portion of full-height chassis slot200.

Upper locking lever 414 and/or lower locking lever 416 may include anycard seating device, mechanism and/or structure that may be configuredto secure upper face plate 406 and/or lower face plate 408 to a frontportion of full-height chassis slot 200.

FIG. 5 illustrates a card seating device including an upper lockingdevice and a lower locking device for seating cards in a chassis inconjunction with a configurable chassis shelf consistent with theprinciples of the invention. The implementation of FIG. 5 may includeupper face plate 406, upper locking lever 414, lower locking lever 416,upper recess 504, lower recess 506, upper thumb screw 508, and lowerthumb screw 510.

Upper face plate 406 may be substantially similar to the implementationdescribed in conjunction with FIG. 4. Upper locking lever 414 and/orlower locking lever 416 may be pivotally coupled to upper face plate 406and/or may include a disengaged, or open, position 502A and/or anengaged, or closed, position 502B. When upper locking lever 414 and/orlower locking lever 416 are placed in disengaged position 502A, uppercard 402 may be removed from full-height chassis slot 200. Upper card402 and/or lower card 404 may be removed along with chassis shelf 108 byplacing an upper locking lever 414 on upper card 402 in disengagedposition 502A and by placing a lower locking lever 416 on lower card 404in disengaged position 502A so as to release assembly 400 fromfull-height chassis slot 200.

Upper locking lever 414 may include an upper recess 504 and/or lowerlocking lever 416 may include a lower recess 506 for engaging an uppermating tab 512 and/or a lower mating tab 514 on full height chassis slot200 and/or chassis shelf 108. Upper recess 504 and/or lower recess 506may include any device, mechanism, structure and/or technique capable ofsecuring a card in a chassis in conjunction with upper locking lever 414and/or lower locking lever 416.

Upper locking lever 414 and/or lower locking lever 416 may cooperativelyoperate to provide sufficient force so as to engage upper matingconnector 410 with upper chassis connector 208 and/or lower matingconnector 412 with lower chassis connector 210. In one implementation,upper locking lever 414 and/or lower locking lever 416 may provide onthe order of approximately 12 to 24 linear inch pounds of force when inthe engaged position. Upper thumb screw 508 and/or lower thumb screw 510may include any device, mechanism and/or structure capable of securingupper face plate 406 against a front portion of full-height chassis slot200.

Implementations of chassis shelf 108 may be used in configurations otherthan the exemplary implementations described above. For example,full-height chassis slot 200 may be configured with three chassisconnectors to accommodate ⅓-height boards that may be joined into anassembly using two chassis shelves 108. Implementations may employ a⅔-height card and a ⅓-height card in conjunction with chassis shelf 108to form an assembly having a height on the order of that associated witha full-height card.

Implementations may employ assemblies of two or more cards that arecommunicatively coupled together via a ribbon cable and/or jumper. Cardsmay communicate via a ribbon cable and/or jumper in addition to, or inlieu of, communicating via connectors associated with full-heightchassis slot 200. Chassis shelf 108 may be configured in a dual-widthimplementation to accommodate a first and second upper card and a firstand second lower card. An assembly employing four cards and a dual-widthchassis shelf may occupy two full sized chassis shots in an electronicdevice. Chassis shelf 108 may be configured and adapted to accommodatetwo or more cards that are installed in substantially any configurationin a chassis slot instead of, or in addition to, vertical and/orhorizontal orientations as previously described.

CONCLUSION

Implementations consistent with the principles of the invention makepossible efficient and flexible usage of available chassis slots inelectronic devices employing removable cards. For example, a singlefull-height chassis slot may accept two or more partial-height boardsjoined into a card assembly via a configurable chassis shelf.

The foregoing description of exemplary embodiments of the inventionprovides illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed.Modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention.

For example, implementations consistent with the principles of theinvention can be implemented using assemblies and parts other than thoseillustrated in the figures and described in the specification withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention. Parts may be added and/orremoved from electronic device 100, full-height chassis slot 200 and/orchassis shelf 108 depending on specific deployments and/or applications.Further, disclosed implementations may not be limited to any specificcombination of hardware.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the inventionshould be construed as critical or essential to the invention unlessexplicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” isintended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended,the term “one” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “basedon,” as used herein is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and theirequivalents.

1. A device to partition a slot within a chassis, comprising: anattachment arrangement to secure a first end of the device to thechassis; a receiving arrangement located along a lengthwise portion ofthe device to accommodate a first card and a second card on opposingsides of the lengthwise portion; and a mating tab arrangement providedon an L-shaped, removably attached face plate connected with a secondend of the device to engage corresponding recesses in a seatingarrangement to seat, in the chassis, at least one of the first card orthe second card.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising: analignment arrangement, located at the first end of the device, tomaintain the device at a determined position within the chassis.
 3. Thedevice of claim 2, where the alignment arrangement prevents the devicefrom rotating about the lengthwise portion, the alignment arrangementcomprising: a plurality of alignment posts protruding from the first endof the device to engage corresponding alignment channels formed in thechassis.
 4. The device of claim 1, where the mating tab arrangement andthe seating arrangement cooperatively provide a force of from about 12to about 24 linear inch pounds.
 5. The device of claim 1, where theattachment arrangement comprises: a rotatable shaft to threadably engagea threaded channel of the chassis.
 6. The device of claim 5, where ahead of the shaft, located at the second end of the device, operativelyengages a tightening device.
 7. The device of claim 1, where the firstend of the device is the only portion of the device to be supported bythe chassis.
 8. The device of claim 1, where the slot is a full-heightchassis slot, and the first end of the device is to attach at a locationother than a midpoint of the slot to operatively divide the slot intotwo unequal portions.
 9. The device of claim 1, where the slot is afull-height chassis slot, and the device is to be arranged with at leastone other device to divide the slot into a plurality of partial-heightslots.
 10. A card assembly comprising: a plurality of cards, each of thecards having an associated seating device at one end and a connector atan opposing end to connect to a chassis; and at least one slot partitionmember to opposingly retain two of the plurality of cards within a slotof the chassis along a lengthwise portion of each of the two of theplurality of cards, where the slot partition member includes a pluralityof mating tabs to engage corresponding recesses in the seating devicesto cooperatively seat the connectors to the chassis further comprisingan L-shaped, removably attached face plate.
 11. The card assembly ofclaim 10, where a mating tab-seating device pair cooperatively provide aforce of from about 12 to about 24 linear inch pounds.
 12. A system forpartitioning a full-height slot in a chassis into a plurality ofpartial-height slots, the system comprising: one or more components toreleasably attach a first end of a device to the chassis within thefull-height slot; one or more components to opposingly retain a firstcard and a second card along a lengthwise portion of the device; and oneor more components to engagingly mate the device to correspondingrecesses of a locking member associated with each of the first andsecond cards to secure at least one of the first card or the second cardin the chassis, where the one or more components to engagingly mate areprovided on an L-shaped, removably attached face plate located at asecond end of the device.
 13. The system of claim 12, furthercomprising: one or more components to maintain the device at adetermined position within the chassis, where the one or more componentsto maintain are located at the first end of the device.
 14. The systemof claim 13, where the one or more components to maintain to prevent thedevice from rotating about the lengthwise portion of the device.
 15. Thesystem of claim 12, where the one or more components to engagingly mateand the locking member cooperatively provide a force of from about 12 toabout 24 linear inch pounds.
 16. The system of claim 12, where the oneor more components to releasably attach comprises: a rotatable shaft tothreadably engage a threaded channel of the chassis.
 17. The system ofclaim 12, where the first end of the device is the only portion of thedevice to be supported by the chassis.
 18. The system of claim 12, wherethe first end of the device is to attach at a location other than amidpoint of the full-height slot, and where the partial-height slotshave different heights.
 19. The system of claim 12, where the device isto be arranged with at least one other device to divide the full-heightslot into the plurality of partial-height slots.